Pish Posh
by Itzelle
Summary: Poor McKenna is thrown back into public school after five years of home-schooling. What happens when the bully of her past becomes her new imprint? Can Paul win back McKenna's trust? Paul/OC. A unique imprint story.
1. Poptarts

**Please enjoy! Also, review your thoughts on this chapter to keep me motivated to write the next chapter! - I. Vonder**

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><p>Sometimes in books and movies, high school is portrayed as wonderland and escape as well as the key to finding love and friendship. Other times it is exaggerated to be a hell-hole. I'm not sure really what to expect out of this semester. That's right, I'm a kid that's home-schooled.<p>

And I'm scared out of my wits. Like a pinata that seriously does not stand a chance at a child's birthday party.

Wait, was I seriously comparing myself to a mass of colorful paper mache filled with candy?

Well, the filled with candy part was right... looking down at my belly, and flinching on the inside.

I wasn't exactly "large and in charge" it was more along the lines of "thick with a dick."

Woah, I seriously just thought that?

The first day of school nerves were obviously getting to me.

I mean, I didn't literally have a penis, obviously. I'm just a little pudgy, and will tell anyone off who doesn't like it.

I had a rather large rump and bust, being a C-cup. A pear shape, if you will.

Who came up with that anyways? Pears are disgusting. I like apples better. Preferably candied.

Obviously I don't help the fat stereotype, always thinking of food. I just like how I sort of referred to fat people as their own sort of species. Hehe.

Anyways, back on topic, today was my first day of school. I had done so much to prepare for this very day. A few days ago I had done some major shopping for clothes as well as school supplies. That's right, school shopping in December.

Unfortunately for me, I decided to start public school for the first time in about five years. Now I'm the new kid in the second semester, which was like a double-whammy! By that I mean that everyone has their friends and group.

Maybe someone remembered me from 5th grade? I doubted it. The day I talked Alexander into pulling me out of school was one I wouldn't forget. Although, I'm not exactly getting into that right now- I thought as I shook my head, gaining more awareness around my surroundings.

I calmly made my way to the bathroom across the hall and peed, all the while wondering why books never mentioned characters taking a deuce, or anything of that nature. I stared in the mirror, despite my squishy pear-body, I had a pretty face. Heart-shaped with green eyes and long eyelashes, on my lids was an interesting eyeshadow design to say the least. Green and orange and purple all thrown on one eyelid. It was different. I liked it. And I liked to think I didn't care if anyone liked or not. However, that last bit was not true. I secretly cared a lot.

My lips were thin, and held only a bit of gloss. My nails were painted mint, or seafoam green. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two.

My skin was fair and my hair was a messy red color that stopped just past my shoulders. If it wasn't obvious yet, I'm not like the Quileutes of my town in the least bit, everyone having dark skin and hair.

La Push was a town that you sort of had to learn to love. It was a bit like a black hole, the kind that once you got into, you won't be getting out anytime soon. And let me tell you, that's never fun. Thanks to La Push, I already lost a shoe in that black hole.

I glanced at the clock as I tugged on a jacket over my v-neck. My eyes bugged out of my head as I realized that I had to leave now, seeing it took ten minutes to walk to school. Shuddering at the thought of this being my first day of school. New people. Interaction with the beasts we all know as teenagers.

Rushing through the kitchen, I snagged a poptart, grabbed my bag, and was out the door before you could even say "colonoscopy." Just say it really, really, slowly.

As I lightly jogged to school, my shoe snagged on a bit of uneven sidewalk. I grunted as I tried to catch myself midfall. Success!

Wait, I totally posed like a superhero. Damn, I wish someone saw that, I totally looked like a bad-ass! Then, I realized something was wrong. No good, terribly, horribly, wrong. My poptart was a good yard away. Normally, the five second rule would apply here. But no, of course not, that would be too easy. It just had to land in a nasty puddle with other unknown contents. Like wolf pee or something. I saw the pastry was very soggy, and I'll be truthful here, I was tempted to hold a funeral for the poor thing... then it crossed my mind.

This had to be a bad omen. Run back home. Lock yourself in the bathroom and refuse to go to school.

Maybe I'd have to start a petition.

Or a march.

Or a hunger strike.

Who was I kidding, I would rather go to school than have it escalate that far.

Then, my fists clenched. I was determined to bulldoze through the day. Afterall, I was McKenna Eisley Marie. 16 year old girl wonder.

It was official, I was out of my mind. Now let's get this damned day over with.

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><p><strong>Review, and perhaps I will not hold chapter 2 captive! Muwaha. - I. Vonder<strong>


	2. Pinatas

**Two chapters, one day? It's a good omen! Enjoy the chapter, and please review to help motivate me! I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a lot longer then the last!**

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><p>I sat in the counselor's office, impatiently tapping my shoe as my green eyes drifted to the window in the office. I watched as people passed by, many curiously meeting my own gaze. A new kid was a rarity here in La Push, especially a pale red-haired wonder. This was because La Push was in the middle of nowhere, where typically only native Quileutes had lived.<p>

I had my story for being here, but that could be reserved for another time. It wasn't so special.

The bell calling for first period had rung, everyone outside the window I peered through had appeared to pick up the pace.

Then, there were the dumb couples that walked like time was on their side, hugging and cuddling for the world to see. There was one atrocious pair that had made out like it was their last day on earth.

Oh how tempted I was to open that window and yell at them to get a room.

However, that would only confirm I was a bitter, lonely, single. I refused to sink to that level. I'll just get eight cats who'll love me unconditionally.

Now currently I was worried for my own mental health...

The tardy bell had rung, and here I was, still waiting in this damned counselor's office. This school has so few people, how busy could she be?

With a lot more waiting, a tiny woman in her late 40s walked out, sipping at a coffee.

I bet she had a wonderful time torturing my patience! She approached me with an ugly fake smile on her face.

"Hello McKendra," she attempted welcoming me, misprouncing my own name.

"McKenna," I interrupted gently, correcting her while still seeming polite. She rolled her eyes, continuing to speak.

"Here's schedule and a map, if you get lost, ask anyone around for help. First period is almost over, so just go ahead and try finding second period for now."

Then, the rude woman shooed me away.

Did it really take all of first period to get me a freaking map and schedule?

I wandered around aimlessly, struggling to find my Spanish class, when the bell rang. People here, there, everywhere.

Then, panic took place. I felt myself itch under my skin, never had I been around so many people in such a closed up area.

"Where is Miss Barragan's room?" I asked out loud to myself, struggling to see the door plates with all the towering people above me.

Then, I swore I found a guardian angel. Boy, he was attractive, too.

A very large russet skinned man with chopped black hair approunched me, a warm smile on his face.

"Hey, you're going where I'm going! You can just follow me, I'll show you where the class is." His voice was deep, which had shocked me at first. I had noticed this boy was taller than everyone else, yet he still had the baby-ish look to his face, like innocence, almost.

The kind stranger lead me to Miss Barragan's room. Miss Barragan who was a tall skinny woman that had to be in her late 20s, rather young for a teacher. To be completely honest, she looked overwhelmed. I would bet money she didn't know how to control her class.

The guardian angel pointed to an empty seat beside him, and I accepedt the offer with no hesitation. Who wouldn't want to sit next to this hot piece of man-meat? I mean, unless you were vegetarian, I suppose.

"I'm McKenna." I offered my name gently, with a soft and grateful smile splattered on my freckly face.

He smiled back and nodded, "I'm Seth, nice to meet you! So, where're you from, McKenna?" His voice had held his energy and excitment. If I had to guess, he was the kind of person that was very easy to please. Luckily, he and I would get along just fine.

"I'm actually from Texas," I said gently, my teensy bit of Texan twang probably made it obvious, "But I've actually lived in Washington for a pretty long while, since 5th grade, to be exact."

Seth nodded and was prepared to respond, but the tardy bell rang, indicating it was time to start class. To my relief, I was ahead of the class, so Spanish would be a breeze. Seth and I didn't speak the rest of the period.

Let me tell you, I was rather convinced my awkwardness had put him off somewhat.

The bell finally rang, and I began gathering my stuff. I watched as Seth was about to leave, then called his name. He was the only person so far I was comfortable with asking for directions. What can I say? I was awfully shy. I was so shy I'd rather count the freckles on my arms then go make conversation with a stranger.

"Yeah McKenna, what is it?" Seth asked, his voice hinting with patience.

"Where is theatre arts?" I blushed slightly, fiddling with my ginger braid to keeps my hands busy.

Seth pointed down the hallway, "Go straight until you hit the cafetorium, the stage is in the very back of that building." I smiled and nodded happily, it sounded pretty straight-forward.

As I turned, prepared to go find my next class, Seth interrupted, "Let me warn you, McKenna, if I remember right, you've got Paul, Jared, and Embry in that class. Those guys are bad news," Seth paused as he pretended to shiver in disgust, "Especially when they're together."

I frowned and nodded, this heavy on my mind as I headed to theatre. As I walked, taking my pretty little time, I could help but dwell on old memories back before I was home-schooled.

_I sat up proudly on the dome that the children loved to climb on, imagining myself ruler of this playground. All creatures that walked into this territory became mine, however I decided right then I would be a good and fine leader. I'd be so great, the name McKenna Eisley will be written in all textbooks!_

_"Hey look at Eisley!" The rude voice of a small boy interrupted my thoughts, and I instantly glared down at my subject. It was a boy I'd never been too fond of, Paul._

_"I say we push 'er down, afterall, that fat of hers will protect her!" Paul shouted._

_Instantly, the other boys, Jared and Embry, snorted out laughing so hard you could've sworn they busted their guts._

_Tears filled my eyes, and I was too afraid to say anything back._

_"I wouldn't touch her though," Paul continued. The other boys stared at him, wondering where he was going with this._

_"Because everyone she touches dies!"_

_Embry and Jared, as if on cue, bursted into laughter. This hit a soft spot, the boys had gone to personal._

_I slowly climbed down the dome, full of tears and sniffles with thoughts of my folks._

_Since that day, the teasing continued day after day. By October, I was a broken mess. That was when I had successfully talked Alex into getting me home-schooled._

I shoved my hands in my pockets, still preparing myself for this moment. I'll be honest, I was shaking like a leaf. Or like someone with incredibly low blood sugar. I then snorted at my crummy similes. Funny, even when I'm scared, I can amuse myself.

So much had changed since I was ten years old in fifth grade, though. I had a sense of humor, I could defend myself! I no longer played "pretend," or went by my middle name "Eisley."

I was McKenna. A completely different person.

Silently I slid through the curtains, entering the stage. It didn't look much like a classroom, it was a relatively empty stage with props laying here and there, with many chairs lined up for the students to sit in. I quickly approached a man on his computer, who looked to be the teacher.  
>"Hi, I'm new here. I'm McKenna Marie," I said shyly as I proceeded to fiddle with my hair.<p>

He looked up and smiled, instantly I felt rather welcomed.

"I'm Mr. Ernesto, welcome!" Boy, this guy sounded far too enthusiastic about his job.

"Looks like you started school just at the right time! We're just now finishing up with a sound project, so today while everyone is presenting their clips, you can get to know the class before we start duets tomorrow."

I nodded, trying to take all of Mr. Ernesto's energy and information in all at once.

"There is an empty spot for you to sit right in between those fellows," Mr. Ernesto pointed to two tall, dark-skinned guys, and I instantly felt my heart being to do gymnastics in my chest.

Moving to the the two guys, I sat in the empty seat between them, dropping my backpack onto the ground. They didn't even bother looking at me, like I was hardly worth their time.

"Douche-nozzles." I whispered under my breath.

The one to my left looked over to me, obviously hearing my words.

"You wanna say that a bit louder, little lady?" he said, his voice deep and his hazel eyes piercing.

He was quite a bit taller than myself with long black hair that was verging on the haircut of Justin Beiber. I bit my lip in fear, deciding whether to repeat myself, or ignore him completely.

I guess I was feeling brave, and I turned to the boy. "Douche. Nozzle. That better for ya?" I said slowly as if I had been speaking to a child.

The boy shook his head as he looked down at me.

"Little ginger bitch, sounds like you need to learn your place."

"Paul!" Mr. Ernesto interrupted the fued quickly. "Principal's office, now."

Then, I was left there blinking in complete shock. I'd been in the class for less than 10 minutes, and I unkowingly get in an arguement with him.

I was right about that poptart this morning.

What a bad omen.

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><p><strong>Just an extra note, everyone has yet to turn into wolves. Everyone is growing, but not turning -quite- yet. So we're clear, currently Seth is a freshman and McKenna is a sophomore. May your poptarts bring you good omens! -I. Vonder<strong>


	3. Past

**Wow, 1000+ words feels like a lot to write, but when it's on FanFiction, it looks like so little! Even on WordPad it looks like I've written a buttload! It lies...**

**Oh well, I'll try to stretch this chapter out as much as possible. Please review! It alerts my phone when you do, and it makes me squeal like a happy piglet. **

**`( . O . )` get it? It's a pig face. Nevermind, on with the story! - I. Vonder**

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><p>The rest of my day continued slowly, and I personally found nothing of particular interest had happened. By lunch, I was starting to put some names to faces, and was invited to sit with one girl named Kim. I'm assuming it's short for Kimberley? I couldn't say for sure.<p>

Buying a sandwich, banana, and a carton of milk, I headed toward Kim's table. Luckily, it was hard to get lost around this small school.

Kim was a very shy girl, like me. Unlike me she was very skinny, pretty, and probably athletic.

We sat in a comfortable silence as we both ate, until I finally thought of something to discuss.

"Hey Kim?" I piped up as I began unpeeling my banana.

"What's up?" she asked, looking up from her book.

Now, I just had to word this correctly. "So, what's up with that group of Paul, Embry, and that other guy?"

"Jared." Kim offered quickly, as if his name held some sort of importance.

"Oh," I mumbled, "Yeah, but... what is it with them?" I took a bite of my banana as I glanced back at their table. The guys were all talking, and Paul oh-so conveniently looked up. Note the sarcasm.

I quickly broke away the stare-down, too scared to know what he might do to me. I could feel his eyes burning through my back, practically through my soul!

"They're... just their own little group, I suppose. They aren't too friendly to anyone, especially newcomers. It's mostly Paul. Embry just sort of laughs and deals with Paul. Jared... he's really sweet. Don't think of him as Paul, I swear, he's a good person!" Kim spoke, and I was shocked that I was able to get so many words out of her!

"And," Kim continued, "They've all really been the talk of the town lately, because they're all having some serious growth spurts lately. People are starting to wonder if they're taking like... steroids. Or something like that." As Kim said this, my eyes had instantly bugged right out of my head. News like that is definately rare in a tiny town like La Push. At the same time though, I couldn't help but feel bad for them. Or at least Embry and Jared, because rumors spread like wildfires around here. They didn't deserve that! Paul on the other hand...

The day continued rather slowly, and I happily discovered that I actually had a couple of classes with Kim, and another class with Seth. Then, the day was coming to a close, ending with one of my favorite electives: art.

I sat in an empty chair in front of a cute looking guy who appeared to be a senior in high school.

We were all given blank papers, the art teacher had directed us to make a picture using two different mediums. I was lost in my rough draft, not listening to any conversations around me. Then, an enourmous slam of a door rudely interrupted my thoughts. It was so startling, it messed up one of the lines I was working on.

"Paul, you're late. What's the deal?" the art teacher, which everyone called Miss Well, asked. She was one of those friendly teachers, the one that hardly yelled so long as you were doing what you're supposed to. The kind of teacher I'm sure everyone loved.

"There's this dumb new girl that got me fucking sent to the principal's office, Miss Well! Like seriously? She looks like a fucking red-headed twinkie-" Paul froze, seeing I too was in the classroom. Everyone snickered around me, and I instantly felt inferior.  
>What should I do? What should I say?<p>

Do I dare even defend myself?

By the sound of everyone's laughter, it sounded like no one was willing to be on my side for once.

Hot tears were starting to surface, and I rose from my seat, rushing out of the classroom. The last I heard of the conversation was Miss Well saying, "Nice one. You're starting to sound like a real douche."

I thought I made out Paul saying, "So I've been told." Which caused more laughter in the art room.

Because news travels fast.

So much for a good first day of school.

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><p>I slowly made my way home, I had stopped crying by now, trying to convince myself that Paul was not worth my tears. Perhaps going back to public school was a bad idea afterall. No. I wouldn't let this get to me. If mom and dad knew I was back in public school, they'd be so proud of me. They'd tell I was more courageous than any wolf or lion. They'd talk me into pushing through, no matter what gets in my way.<p>

I, McKenna Eisley Marie, am a weed. No matter how many times you try to bring me down, I'll always come back, and come back stronger, even!

I was smiling to myself as I fiddled putting my key into the lock. Entering my house, I saw that Alexander was not yet home from work.

My poor older brother was rather overworked. He had the stress of working at a small diner here in La Push, as well as keeping his kid sister fed and her nose out of trouble. That sister, of course, would be the part of myself.

I dropped my backpack on the floor and headed to my room to play on the internet. My room was very welcoming, and smiled ever-so slightly as I entered. The walls were white, sadly we could not paint them because Alexander only rented the place. However, I had chosen to make the best of it. Paintings and drawings lined my walls, a majority of them were still-life. Flowers, trees, streams, animals. I rarely ventured deep into the woods for fear of wolves, just far enough to find the beauty.

After wasting time on Facebook and DeviantArt, I made myself a dinner that consisted of, well... Frosted Flakes. Wasn't I such a classy and sophicated lady? I snorted at this thought, picturing myself in a monocle and mustache. As I was munching away at the crunchy deliciousness of my cereal, I heard the lock being toyed with, and my brother entered the house, locking the door again behind him. He was much taller than myself, standing at about 6'1". His hair was a dark brown, verging on black, and his eyes were also a very dark brown. Dark circles surrounded his eyes, showing how little sleep he's gotten in the past few weeks.

It's pretty clear we look absolutely nothing alike, right? That's because Alexander is actually my half brother.

He was the child of my father and another woman, a Quileute, from a previous marriage. They divorced, my father taking Alex with him, and he met my mother. They married, had me, and we were a family. I was always rather close with Alexander, despite the ten year age difference. Even as a 7 year old, Alex still had the heart to spend time with me and incorperate me into the things he did. (As lame as it is for a 17 year old to hang with his kid sister.)

I tried to smile brightly at him, and he forced himself to smile back.

"How was work?" I asked, already knowing the answer would be a rather negative response by his disheveled appearance.

"We need more waitors, we've been getting so much business lately. I have to stay longer than usual because we're short-handed on staff." Alexander sighed heavily, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

"You know Alex, I could come in after school tomorrow, and we can see if I help the workload a bit." I offered, hating to see my brother so stressed. Afterall, he did so much for me anyways, it was the least I could do. I could see by the look in Alexander's eyes, this instantly brightened his mood.

"Yeah! That's a great idea! I know you'll try your hardest, and you're old enough to work, so I don't see where there would be a problem."

I smiled slightly, wow, I had my first job! It's a good way to keep me occupied after school, and it seemed like a good way to brush up on my social skills.

I rose to my feet, put my cereal bowl in the sink, and changed into a large t-shirt and my Batman pajama shorts.

I jumped into bed, setting my alarm clock, and curled into my comforter. It took quite a bit of rolling and readjusting until I found a comfortable position, then drifted into a deep slumber.

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><p>The alarm clock blasted crummy Christmas music at six in the morning, and my hand fumbled around, searching for the "off" switch. After a good minute of searching, the song "Silver Bells" was seriously getting on my nerves. It was the beginning of January, and here my alarm clock was spouting out-dated holiday tunes. Come on alarm clock, get with the times! The truth is, I was just too lazy to bother changing the radio station that woke me with music. More honesty here, I enjoyed waking up to the song "Feliz Navidad." No joke.<p>

Slipping out of bed, I started a hot bath, picking out today's clothes as the water filled the tub. It was fast, scrubbing the "hot spots" and washing my hair. I towel dried my hair and body, and started to get dressed. Today I chose to wear skinny jeans that were rolled up at the bottom, because they were a bit too long for short little me. On top I wore a white t-shirt that had a picture of a record player on it, with a grey carigan over it. My red hair was in one single braid, with a pink knit hat laying on the back of my head.

I glanced down at my make-up, the nutty eyeshadow designs were endless in my head. Today I used blues and browns, with mocha eyeliner and mascara. Posing in the mirror a bit, I felt much more confident than yesterday. I was determined to not let Paul get to me, no matter what.

Jogging downstairs, I snagged a granola bar today.

If it falls in water this time, it's less likely to get soggy! I felt like laughing at my stubborness as I grabbed my backpack and headed out the door. It was foggier than usual, but luckily there was no rain as of now.

Heading to school, this time I watched out for the uneven pavement I had tripped on yesterday. Making it to school without a scratch, I felt that somehow, today would be a better day.

The day went by slowly, and I was starting to get the hang of things. I now knew where my classes were located, and I was able to recognize who I had classes with. In Spanish, Seth was relieved to have me there. Miss Barragan frequently assigned group projects, and lucky for Seth, I understood what was going on.

"Voy a la biblioteca para... esquiar?" Seth asked, staring blankly at the worksheet. I cracked up laughing, and he instantly blushed, embarrassed by his crappy Spanish skills.

"You do realize you just said you go to the library in order to ski, right?" I chuckled. Seth rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and I felt a bit bad for laughing at him.

"Voy a la escuela para bailar en la mesa los lunes," I attempted to say. I knew I wasn't perfect at Spanish too, but I'm sure it got the point across. Seth was quiet, as he took a moment attempting to "decode" my sentence.

"You go to the school to dance on the table on Mondays?" he asked, a smile on his face. I nodded, and we both chuckled as we continued filling out the worksheet when the bell rang.

Putting my things in my backpack, I attempted to prepare myself for theatre. Confidence. I was a weed, I repeated in my head.

Today, I was determined to be one stubborn-ass bitch.

Pushing the curtains out of my way, I walked onto the stage, sitting in the exact place I sat yesterday. I was relieved to see the Paul wasn't here yet, so that gave me time to collect myself.

Looking to the guy next to me, it occured to me that I didn't exactly catch his name.

"I'm McKenna." I said in a friendly tone of voice, as I held out my hand. The guy looked to me, blinking, as if doing a double-take. He was probably shocked I was talking to him, since we both knew he was friends with the enemy: Paul.

"Oh, erm, yeah. I'm Embry, nice to meet'cha," he shook my hand firmly, and I was pleased to discover that Embry was actually rather welcoming.

"You know, you look an awful lot familiar. Are you from here? Perhaps I've seen you around or something." Embry spoke, his eyes still scanning the room to make sure Paul wasn't around.

"You may know me," I mumbled, as I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

To be honest, I was a little reluctant to have someone know who I really was. Perhaps he remembered me from fifth grade? I honestly wished I could've just started on a blank slate. If he knew my past, he'd know how weak I was then. How broken I was. I didn't want anyone to still see me like that little girl from fifth grade.

I couldn't lie about myself, though. It was like denying a piece of myself. Eventually, I'd be forced to accept it. Might as well be now, I suppose.

"Perhaps my middle name sounds more familiar to you. I'm McKenna Eisley Marie." I said slowly, carefully examining Embry's facial expressions as I spoke. His eyes looked up, as if trying to collect his old memories. Then, I could see it hit him. His eyebrows slowly scrunched together, causing his forehead to wrinkle. Then, I watched as his lips pressed into a firm line.

"I'm awful sorry I don't do anything about Paul, Eisley. Sometimes, he's just joking. But he's really been taking it too far and-" Embry rambled his apologies, and I stopped him mid-sentence.

"It's okay Embry, I forgive you. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

Embry smiled, pulling me into a hug. I felt a little uncomfortable, but I let him hug and squeeze the daylights out of me.

The rest of theatre, Embry offered to be my duet partner. I was pleased with the fact that we became fast friends, and that Paul was absent for the day. It all passed, the entire school day was a pleasant breeze, surprisingly!

During art as I continued my sketch from yesterday, it occured to me that I had to meet my brother at work to see if I fit well as a waitress.

The final bell rang, and I pulled my backpack over my shoulder as I headed to the local diner called _Delight. _It was also a hang-out place for teenagers because they had cheap and delicious smoothies that were out of this world.

Yep, today was going to be a rather tiresome day.

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><p><strong>And that's it! Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review suggestions, predictions, anything! Feel free correct or complain about my lame and basic Spanish skills as well. xD<strong>

**Also, a super happy shout out to: danoc, Ebony Hallow, and Destineyrose18! Have a nice evening everyone. (:**


	4. Pals

**Here's a fun little chapter of McKenna's first day as a waitress! How will she get along with her coworker Leah? You'll see!  
><strong>**Also a special shout-out to BeautifulDisaster119! (:  
>Thanks for the couple of reviews I have so far, it's very motivating! I really appreciate your support!<strong>

"Here! Put this on, pull your hair into a ponytail, and start taking orders as soon as people arrive." my brother explained to me quickly as he tossed me a vibrant yellow apron with the word "Delight" written in purple, along with the mascot's head on the chest. For some reason, it was a very happy looking zebra sticking out its tongue. Pulling my hair into a ponytail, I scanned the restaurant. Currently, only two tables were occupied, and they had already been taken care of. As if Alexander had read my mind he said, "It's always calm before the storm," as he passed me. I assumed that in a bit, tons of high schoolers will come, seeing that school ended not very long ago. A tall dark woman with shoulder length hair came in, and Alexander egged me on to welcome my first customer, a fat smile on his face. I approached the woman, trying to appear warm and welcoming.

"Hi there, welcome to Delight! I'm McKenna, would you like a table or-"

"Shut your pie-hole, I work here, mouse brain!" the woman spouted as she roughly pushed passed me, heading to the back of the restaurant. Then, Alex's obnoxious laugh rang through my ears, I shot him one of my world famous glares. He played a silly trick on me, this meant revenge. However, I must admit it was a good idea. The lady was someone plenty of people knew around town, Alex mentioned her every now and then from working with her, as well as her nasty temper. If I remembered correctly, her name was Leah Clearwater. I however, had never met her. Until now, I suppose.

A couple of real customers cames in this time around, and I welcomed them in, sitting them at one of the smaller tables since they were a group of three. They were all attractive Quileute guys, and as I took their order, I realized that one of them was Embry.

"Hi Embry, what can I get for you?" I asked, pen on the notepad, ready to jot down anything.

"Oh man, hi McKenna! I didn't know you worked here. I'll have a large peanut banana smoothie, hold the pearls." I quickly jotted down the order, then took the orders of the other two guys who I actually didn't recognize.

"This is actually my first day, I'm just helping my brother. He's like, second-in-command of the entire joint. Who're your friends?" I asked, speaking quickly, seeing there were other people heading in.

"This is Jake and then this here is Quil," Embry introduced each guy. I smiled brightly, and gave a small wave.

"I'll get you guys' order right out," I said, feeling awkward leaving the conversation so soon. That was work for you, I suppose.

I set the order down for Leah to make, and continued welcoming people in, taking their orders.

"McDonald!" Leah shouted from behind the counter. I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, like I haven't heard _that _one before, Leah! Or should I say, diarr-leah?" I threw it back at her, proud of myself for coming up with something so quickly. Leah blinked, and busted out laughing.

"I think you'll fit right in, kiddo!" Leah managed to say through her fit of giggles.

"But anyway Ken, you're doing great up front welcoming and taking orders. You're just forgetting to come and _get_ the smoothies." Leah explained, sounding much more friendly now that I earned her respect.

"How do I know what table they go to?" I asked, biting my lip at the thought of messing every order up.

"I'll tell you what," Leah began, "I'll tell you who to take them to by appearance. It'll fun, I promise." She had some spark in her eye, and slowly I was curious to see how she planned to make work enjoyable. Leah slid a tray that held three large smoothies.

"Take these to Dumb, Dumber, and Dumberer." Leah stated with a sly smile. I looked around the room, then realized she was referring to Quil, Jake, and Embry. Taking them their order, I couldn't keep from giggling.

Setting each smoothie down in front of the correct person, I had accidently overheard a bit of their conversation.

"Paul was gone today. You know what that means."

"Steroids-"

"Sam."

"I saw him on the way here, and he was massive-"

"-cut that Beiber haircut short too."

"-doesn't even look like Paul anymore."

All of the guys were talking out of turn and interrupting each other, so it was hard to fully understand what they were talking about. I scowled at the thought of Paul already, but to hear he was massive and on steroids? Wouldn't that mean that he'd have an even shorter temper? That also probably meant that he could do even more damage if he wanted to hurt me. Sighing, I went back to the counter where Leah stood with two more orders. She handed me two at the same time.

"The one on the left goes to the woman that's trying to make her boobs look like Pamela Anderson's, but it's not working out for her. The one on the right goes to the fellow that looks like Haley Joel Osment." Leah explained as she eyed the customers.

"Cute younger version of Haley Osment, or the older fatter version?" I instantly replied, getting my mind off of that devil, Paul.

"See," Leah said with a bright smile, "You're catching on, young grasshopper!"

I continued taking orders and welcoming customers. It was tiring, and somehow it was still fulfilling. At around six, Alex let me take a break to eat dinner, and that was when the traffic had started to slow down. Probably because it was getting dark out, and secretly everyone was a tiny bit afraid of the nocturnal animals around here. Especially since a couple of weeks ago someone reported a bear sighting. It was most likely a wolf and the person was too panicky to tell, but still, you could never be too careful.

Finally at about 7:30, Alex locked up the diner and it was time to go home. It was already incredibly dark, curse the winter and its short daylight hours! Luckily Alex had a car, so we wouldn't have to walk.

"You know, I'm actually very surprised. You're the first person Leah actually _likes._" Alex smiled, as he glanced down at me in the passenger seat, still fiddling to put my seatbelt in the proper buckle.

"Oh me? Shucks. Does she like me, or does she _like-like _me?" I teased. We both howled with laughter in the car at that thought, just as we were pulling into our home.

"So, am I going back again tomorrow after school?" I asked, hopeful he would say yes.

"Sure McKenna, I don't see why not."

Success! Guess who can juggle public school and work, as well as make friends with someone who hates all of humanity? This girl!

I stood in the living room just as Alex retired to his room, doing a very dorky victory dance. Let's just say that it involved wild arm movements and a few booty pops thrown in with the hips of a hula girl. Then, Alex cleared his throat, bringing it to my attention that he was in the living room again, watching my performance.

"McKenna?"

I could've sworn he went to bed! I froze right there, my hips in mid-sway, my butt in mid-pop, and my arms "raising the roof." I blushed slightly, "Yes Alex?"

"Go to bed."

My arms dropped, and I awkwardly ran my fingers through my hair.

"Alright."

* * *

><p><strong>McKenna, Y U SO AWKWURD? I hope you enjoyed. It's nuttier than usual, because I wound up writing this at around 2 in the morning.<br>****Please review your thoughts, comments, and suggestions for future conflicts and such! It's always really motivating. **

**Thanks. - I. Vonder**


	5. Plays

**New chapter time! And this one is the longest chapter to date! Perhaps Paul will come back this chapter? It's going to get awfully juicy, this chapter! I'll try to make this one as long possible. xD  
>Ebony- Paul definitely needs to show his face more, I agree! This chapter should be the one where Paul becomes a much more regular character. And hmm, Embry asking McKenna out? Sounds great! I have just the way to work this out.<strong>

**- I. Vonder**

_**(NOTE: keep in mind that there's been a couple of weeks time pass. McKenna will inform you of the little things that've happened. (: )**_

Don't you hate when you wake up before your alarm clock goes off? Yeah, I was having one of those mornings. The one where you have fifteen minutes before the alarm rings, and you can't get yourself to fall back asleep? So there I was in my Coca Cola pajama pants and Spongebob Squarepants t-shirt, pondering all about life. School had been going well, in fact, it'd been going great! My classes were relatively easy and enjoyable, Embry, Kim, and Seth were all proving to be such good friends, and Paul was gone the past two weeks. I had hoped he moved, got violently ill, or something of that nature. Ever since he left, my problems seemed to have gone with him! Then there was work, which was hard and sweaty, but somehow still enjoyable. Leah and I got along rather well, and we still played our silly games at work. Embry frequented the shop often, and on breaks we'd work on our duet together.(How redundant!)

The duet was really easy, luckily Embry was a good actor, making it all somehow come naturally. He was also kind enough to give me pointers, saying things like, "Perhaps you should say that line in a different tone," or "Maybe here, you could do this for blocking." Today in theatre arts was the actual day we had to perform our duet in front of the class.

Finally, the alarm clock went off. The Christmas song the radio offered me to wake up to was "Jingle Bell Rock." This was another of my favorites, and I found myself dancing out of bed and to my closet. Today I had to dress differently than usual, Embry told me to find something that my own character would wear. This meant something feminine and more formal, great.(Note my sarcasm!)

I put on a dull yellow dress that had tiny red and pink flowers printed all over it, matching it with a grey cardigan and brown strapped sandles. I took the time out this morning to curl my hair with a curling iron, matching it with a red bow on top.

Looking at the mirror, I pretended to pose. I actually looked pretty cute, despite this not being my style at all. I totally looked like I could play the character of Catherine!

I looked at the time, my eyes bugging out of my head when I realized I was late. I'd seriously lost track of time! Throwing my backpack over my shoulder, I rushed to school, walking as quickly as possible as one could in flimsy strappy sandles. My mind being so set on getting to school as soon as possible, I had completely forgotten about watching out for the uneven sidewalk I had tripped on on the very first day of school. My shoe snagged, and I felt myself falling gracelessly. This time, however, I didn't catch myself in the same heroic pose. Landing on the ground, intense pain shot through my knee. I blinked, feeling tears spring up. Boy, I was such a baby.

As I was staring at my skinned knee, watching the blood rise to the surface to clot and protect me from infection, I heard a voice that only solidfied the idea that I was going to have a bad day. Paul.

"You okay?" his deep and curious voice asked, without a whole lot of emotion. I cringed, not even wanting to look up at him. Besides, if I did, he'd see that'd been crying over a silly skinned knee.

"Go away Paul." I hissed coldly, my hands wiping my eyes away as I tried to pull myself to my feet.

"I was only trying to help, you little-" I had gotten to my feet by now, looking Paul straight in the eye. He was so much taller and buffer than I remembered, and his hair was chopped short. Then, there was his face. His pupils were dilated, as if he looking at me hungrily, like a wild animal. They read of many emotions as his eyes knit together.

The best description I could possibly give about the look on his face was that he honestly looked like That's So Raven when she had a vision.

Oh right, bad time to be making jokes. This is a serious situation right now.

"A little what?" I snapped as I glared into his hazel eyes that so perfectly fit his face. Wait, _what?_

Snap out of it, McKenna, you hate this monster!

"I can't stand here all day waiting for you to think of an insult, _Paul._" I snapped, attempting to say his name with vile. Still, there was silence.

Did I seriously leave this moron speechless? That was a first for anyone, I think. I rolled my eyes and turned, limping my way to school. Luckily, it was only another block or so away, and boy did my knee ache.

"McKenzie, wait!" Paul blurted as he rushed after me. I continued walking, or limping rather, deciding it was in my best interest to just focus on getting to school before second period started.

"Look, I'm awful sorry about being so rude to you a few weeks ago. I'm sorry, McKenzie!"

Strangely, Paul actually sounded somewhat sincere. Obviously he was just messing with my head, not even being kind enough to get my freaking name right. Finally, I stopped and turned to him.

"The fucking red-haired twinkie?" I threw back at him, repeating the same words he'd called me in art class. It was odd, remembering that that was actually and awful long time ago. And yet, it still seemed like it just happened yesterday.

Paul frowned, chewing on the corner of his lip.

"I'm sorry, I was just angry. You're beautiful, stunning, sexy, even-" Paul blurted, his hands waving as he spoke. His sentence had then been interrupted by a cold hard slap on his face, all credits going to myself.

Thank you, thank you, hold the applause. I turned quickly, rushing even more quickly to school despite the pain in my knee. Paul just stood there, I didn't even want to know what was going on in his head. This time he didn't bother going after me.

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's Point of View! <strong>_**(Him and his conceited self!)**_

I was good-looking. I was fast. I was strong. Did I forget to mention that I was good-looking? I stared at myself in the mirror, running a hand through my freshly cut hair. It had officially been three days since I last phased, proving to the alpha, Sam, that I was ready to go back to school. This, I was thrilled about. Girls before had already made goo-goo eyes at me, wait until they see me now! I was fucking drop-dead gorgeous.

Pulling on a black v-neck t-shirt, grey shorts, and red converse, I headed to school. I'll be honest, I was anxious to get my arms around a new and hot looking babe. Sam's warning about girls rang through my head, but I pushed it away. He was just paranoid, seeing that ever since he imprinted, he's been trying to find a way to break it off with Leah. Just so he could go out with her cousin. Pretty twisted, right? Imprinting was supposed to be rare anyways, like a one in a million chance.

Pulling out my phone, I glanced at the clock. I already knew it would tell me I was tardy for school, it's not my fault a guy wants to sleep in after a rough patrol with the whiney Sam! I then shoved my phone carelessly back into my shorts. That's when a few yards away, I watched a short and pudgy looking girl snag her shoe on the broken concrete that everyone knew to avoid. I suppose I would've been fast enough to catch the girl now that I was a werewolf, but I guess you could just say I didn't feel like it. She needed to learn to watch where she stepped anyways, I was practically teaching her a lesson!

"You okay?" I asked, more out of politeness than anything else. I watched as she began wiping her tears, almost as if she were fearful I would see them. She was crying just because she tripped? How pathetic.

"Go away Paul." the girl attempted to say. Her voice had sounded rather sweet, almost sing-songy if she wasn't trying to sound rude to me. She'd said my name like it was poison however, and I was taken aback. What a cold-heart bitch!

"I was only trying to help, you little-" I froze. The girl lifted herself to her feet, she had barely came up to my chest. She had looked me right into the soul, to the depths I'd never wanted anyone to see into. My eyes took in every inch of perfection in her face. Her freckles were unique, they contrasted well with her bright green eyes that were currently filled with hatred, as well as surprise. I looked down at her, wondering how one person could look so beautiful. I wanted to say something, but then something struck me.

This was the girl I had hated a few weeks ago. What was wrong with me? Was I blind? Or crazy? I had been rude to her even, I was sure I upset her! My heart had instantly deflated, knowing I didn't deserve her.

"A little what? I can't stand her all day waiting for you to think of an insult, Paul." I was numb as I listened to this red-haired practically chew me up and spit me out. I just watched as she rolled her eyes and limped away.

Oh yeah, she'd hurt herself. And I had _let_ it happen. There were so many strikes against me. I hurt this girl inside and out already, and I didn't even know her name. Would she find it weird if I offered to piggy-back her to school so she wouldn't be in pain?

Hold on Paul, act normal. This girl was being a total bitch anyway! Somehow, associating those words with that girl didn't fit. My inner self and my imprint battled inside me, everything was conflicted.

Then, I came to a decent conclusion both sides of me agreed with: attract the hell out of this girl. Be Paul, be manly, be smooth.

"McKenzie, wait!" I found myself spurting as I caught up with her with ease. Wow, I even remembered her name from weeks ago! McKenzie, that was a pretty name. McKenzie had ignored me, continuing to hobble along.

"Look, I'm awful sorry about being so rude to you a few weeks ago." I repeated my apologies over and over. Yep, way to stick with the plan and be manly. Then, she stopped and turned, I couldn't get butterflies in my stomach.

"The fucking red-haired twinkie?"

I could've sworn I felt my jaw drop to the ground. Low-blow.

I continued to spew sorries, then, my imprint decided to take reign.

"You're beautiful, stunning, sexy even-" Then a slap across the face stopped me from continuing. And honestly, I think I could've gone on forever. The angel that was McKenzie walked on, and this time I decided not to stop her.

Now, it was time to collect myself. I was supposed to be the sarcastic, blunt, smooth with the ladies Paul! What had happened to me? Who knew turning into a werewolf would also turn you into a pussy.

Then, I decided I wouldn't let this control my life. I'll get my arms around another equally hot girl, if that was even possible, and I'll forget all about McKenzie.

Time for a whole new game-plan.

* * *

><p><strong>McKenzie's Point of View. (It's actually McKenna. Paul better get it right soon!)<strong>

Second period sped away far too quickly, probably because I knew Paul would officially make his appearance in the school once again. The attractive jerk that couldn't remember my name, despite the copious amounts of torture he put me through.

When it was time for theatre, I rushed as quickly as possible to go meet with Embry. Then, my worries started to get to me. What if Embry started ignoring me again because Paul was back? I didn't even want to think about that, it made my heart hurt too much. Or it was indigestion.

Pulling the curtains back, I saw Paul hadn't arrived yet.

"Embry, Paul's back," I said quickly, practically out of breath. Embry blinked, as if trying to process this, then he nodded slowly.

"If he says anything to you, I'll take care of hime," Embry said protectively. I smiled in relief, and hugged Embry gratefully. Then, I felt eyes boring into my back so hard it made me itch under my skin uncomfortably. When I let go of my friend, I looked to see Paul in his seat glaring at me and Embry.

Seriously, what was up this guy's butt? Whatever it was, it couldn't be pulled out with a tractor.

"Wow Ken, that's some good stage make-up," Embry whistled, looking down at my knee. That was the one good thing about my scrape, our duet convienantly involved a skinned knee. At least I didn't have to use make-up.

Then, Mr. Ernesto announced the we prepare the stage with the furniture and props for our scene. Embry and I were up first, it was time to put all two weeks of practice and work into use.

* * *

><p>The lights went off, and the entire stage was dark. So dark, you couldn't even see your hand right in front of your face.<p>

The one light right in the middle of the stage turned on, I sat in an old wooden chair as Embry, or Will rather(that was his character's name), tended to my scraped knee.

"So, are you going to tell me what you were running from?" Embry asked gently, looking up to me occasionally, busying himself with bandaging my leg.

"I'm not sure I want to. It's nothing special, honest. Who said I was running from anything anyway?" I asked, careful to go through my lines slowly, trying my best to make it seem believable.

"You're sounding awful defensive about the entire thing, Catherine." Embry said, shaking his head gently. He rose to his feet, dusting his hands off.

"Well Cathy, you're taken care of now. Your knee at least. You sure there's nothing else you want to talk about?" Embry questioned, looking me in the eye. Even I could really believe that he was the character Will.

"No, I'm sure." As I said this, Embry turned to leave. As he did so, I bit my lip as if I were deliberating telling Will or not.

"Will, wait!" I gasped, flying from my seat to catch up with Embry, who by now was on the other side of the stage.

Embry turned, and we crashed into each other into a hug.

"It was Logan. He's hurt me inside and out, but it's over now. I promise it is." I spurted, tears springing to my eyes as I _really _got into the character.

"He's broken you," Embry began, his voice gentle, "Let me be the glue." From here, the lights were supposed to dim, but they didn't. For some reason, Embry did call "scene" yet. Embry was still looking me in the eyes, and I couldn't break it.

His hand brushed my chin and he leaned downward, giving me a soft kiss. My _first_ kiss. I shut my eyes as I smiled, feeling myself tiptoe to better meet his lips.

"Scene." Embry finally said as we broke apart our little improv.

* * *

><p>We turned, and everyone was clapping. Sure, the scene was dramatic, but I personally felt like we did great. Embry did, at least. We both went to our seats after we did a small bow, and I couldn't get myself to look at Embry after we'd kissed. I was probably so red I blended right in with my hair and freckles!<p>

I fiddled with my nails, picking the nail polish off to busy myself. I didn't want to have to make conversation with Embry right now. That's when I realized some people started arguing with each other. Looking up, Embry and Paul were going at it. About what, I couldn't say for sure. Both were in each other's faces, Paul visibly trembling from anger. Watching in shock, I tried to overhear what they were yelling about.

"You are such a fucking douche!" Paul shouted, giving Embry a good shove square in the shoulders.

"Me a douche? Look at you, being a man-whore, walking around like you're too good for fucking anyone!" Embry snapped back quickly, attempting to shove Paul back. However, Paul didn't even budge with his attempt. As Paul had a look in his eye like he was going to murder Embry, I intervened. If Embry vowed to defend me, it might as well be the other way around, too!

"Get away from him, you ass-hole!" I snapped, standing in front of Embry defensively. That was when I watched Paul's eyes soften for a moment. His eyebrows inched together, as if he were deliberating with himself about what he should do or say.

"Get out of the way, McKenzie!" he snapped. However, his tone sounded more like a warning than anything else.

Embry seemed to laugh at this. "Look at this, Ken. All of what he put you through, and yet he doesn't even know your name!" Embry shouted.

Paul's face instantly dropped, "What's your name then?" he asked rather gently. Or as gentle as Paul could be, I guess you could say. I then turned to Embry, giving him a warning look. Embry knew that telling Paul my full name should be my decision, and he instantly back out, which I was extremely thankful for.

"Well, what is it?" Paul almost sounded frantic. My fists clenched as I finally decided to take off my mask.

"It's McKenna Eisley Marie. There, you happy Paul?" I yelled. The whole class was surrounding us by now, even the teacher wasn't sure how to handle this all. Paul held me in his eye, and he shook his head.

"Now get out of here, Paul. Everyone was happier when you were gone!" I snapped, feeling so much brave, so much more powerful. Paul surprisingly obeyed this time as he turned, exiting the stage looking much like a kicked puppy.

I hesitantly looked to Embry now, and he smiled at me. He wrapped his hand in my own, and he bent over to whisper in my ear. In fact, the words still continued to rattle in my head.

"We did it."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's the end of chapter 5! Leave comments and suggestions, everything is welcomed! Tell me what should happen in the next chapter, and it might just happen. Have a good weekend! - I. Vonder<strong>


	6. Pecks

**What a great time for a chapter involving Paul's point of view! Thanks so much for the reviews, it's seriously motivating. Notice there's a new chapter every day, so we'll see how long this lasts. xD**

**This chapter is dedicated to RandomlySinging.**

**Also, if it's not clear, Embry has yet to phase. Currently it's only Jared, Paul, and Sam. We'll also be checking in on the lovely Kim in this chapter!**

**- I. Vonder**

* * *

><p><strong>Paul's Point of View. (And not Pauly D, you crazy Jersey Shore people!)<strong>

Standing outside the school, I tried to control my breathing. I tried my best to focus on controlling my severe trembling, but I was starting to slip away. My imprint was hurt, and _I_ was the one that had hurt her. How did I not know that McKenna was Eisley? It's because I was just plain stupid, that's how. Then she had to go kiss _Embry._ I swear, this day had to have been planned out by Satan himself. The imprint wanted to cry, mope, to inhale copious amounts of chocolate. Then, the Paul side of me wanted to get a new girl to drown away my problems, to go back to being a know-it-all jerk.

I glared into the forest, and saw that Sam was peering out at me through the foliage. He was waiting to watch me phase, watch me lose control, watch me give in to instincts.

"_Not today."_ I hissed to the shadows that had kept the wolf away from sight. I turned, heading back into this hellish building I knew as school. I was going to reject this imprint, I refused to change who I was before to get one single girl. She wasn't worth anyway, I told myself.

_No, I'm pretty sure it was worth it, _the imprint said back. But by now, I decided to ignore it.

"I am Paul, here me roar." I mumbled with a faint smile pulling itself onto my lips.

* * *

><p><strong>McKenna's Point of View. (McKendra, McKenzie, will these people ever get her name right?)<strong>

Embry and I walked to lunch, but of our heads held a little higher. We walked with our hands in each other's, causing people to turn and stare. The pudgy red-haired girl is holding hands with a guy? Not even just a guy, but a hot guy at that. Embry looked down at me, still smiling. He was proud of himself for officially breaking away from Paul, and I'll admit that I'm proud of him too. We finally untangled our fingers as I staring getting lunch, Embry right behind me. I started heading to my usual place next to Kim, who looked rather antsy in her seat.  
>Embry gave me a little wave, then left to sit with Quil and Jake.<p>

"Kim, you look like you're about to piss your pants." I commented as I set my tray on the lunch table.

"Jared is back!" she said far too quickly and excitedly. I couldn't help but think it was a little out of character. Kim was always one to stay quiet and think over her words before she said anything.

"Oh really? So is Paul," I answered back, stabbing a chicken nugget with my fork as I thought of the jerk. Suddenly, Kim's eyes flicked to something behind me, and she blinked, as if doing a double-take.

"Paul is looking back at you..." she murmured. I felt goosebumps rise on my arms, boy I was so tempted to look back at him and just give him the finger. Somehow though, I was working my self-control and managed to refrain from doing so.

"Have you talked to Jared yet, Kim?" I asked suddenly, decided I'd be more comfortable with changing the subject. Kim frowned, shaking her head slowly.  
>"I've actually never really spoken to him before," she admitted, "except the one time when I needed to borrow a pencil." I laughed at this, quickly covering my mouth. I didn't want to hurt Kim's feeling, but I found that too funny. And I thought that <em>I<em> was shy! Kim smiled gently shaking her head.

"I know! Aren't I absolutely pathetic?" she whined as she set her chin in the palm of her hand.

"No, you're not pathetic Kim, honest! You're just shy. How about today be the day you say hello to him and invite him to have a smoothie with you at Delight?" I asked, trying my hardest to egg Kim on.

"Er, well..." Kim's face turned a dark shade of red as the thought processed in her head.

"If you do, I'll get you a nice table for two, I'll serve you, and the smoothies are on me." I said quickly, trying to get that offer to be a deal-breaker. By the look on Kim's face, that seemed to convince her a little more.

"I suppose I'll try," she huffed, "It helps me a little knowing that you'll be working and serving us, so you could save me if something goes horribly wrong."

"What could possibly go wrong?" I asked, "Besides, I'll make sure I put love potion in his smoothie!" Then, I proceeded to do any evil laugh, which lightened Kim's mood a bit.

Then, it was set. Kim was going to seriously talk to Jared for the very first time next period, which was chemistry. And lucky for me, I had a nice seat that was just a table over. The lunch bell finally rang, and I threw away my lunch trash as I headed out. On my way to my locker, my eyes darted to a couple that were really going at in the hallway, _right_ next to my locker. Trying my best to ignore them, I continued on with entering my combination. Glancing back to the couple, who were still going strong, I saw that the guy was actually Paul. I continued blinking, my stare long and blank. This couldn't exactly click in my head for some reason. The thought of Paul with another girl didn't make sense. It didn't really look right. Finally I cleared my throat, "Be careful," I told the girl, "He bites."

Paul pulled away from the girl, looked to me, then to his feet.

"Fuck off, McKally." Paul growled roughly, his eyes eyes still staring hard at the ground. His words said one thing, his body language said another. I shook my head and slammed my locker door after I gathered my things for chemistry. You'd think that after today's theatre arts, he would've remember my name by now.

"Pathetic." I found myself murmuring as I turned, heading to my class before I could be counted as tardy.

* * *

><p>I found my seat, Kim was just a table away, Jared right next to her. Her long, straight, black hair was currently being used as a curtain. Hmm, no free smoothies for her, then! Aww, and I was planning to put extra sugar in hers too. That girl seriously needed to fatten up. I looked around wildly for something to throw at Kim. Paper was a good option if I just wanted it stuck in her hair, but still not good enough for an attention grabber. Looking down at pencil, I tore a reasonable chunk of eraser off. Flicking it, the eraser chuck hit the back of Kim's neck, and she slowly turned back to me. Luckily, she was already used to my stupid and crazy antics. I then pointed to Jared with a sly smile, and I watched as Kim silently groaned. That girl was hoping to see if I would forget so she could get of easily! Boy was she wrong. I watched as she turned back to her science table, her fingers drumming anxiously. She had begun to turn to Jared, and I she said hello.<p>

The bad thing about being so far back was I could hardly hear what they were saying! Jared turned to her, his eyes fluttering as he stared at Kim. Then the goofiest, stupidest looking grin splattered onto his face. I stared at these two in awe, pretending to eat popcorn as Jared spoke, then Kim spoke, then Jared spoke, then Kim giggled!

Oh my gosh, what was I missing? If only I knew what they were saying! I could catch a word here and there, but it was never enough to give me a clue as to what they were saying.

The period slowly went by, and I watched, ignoring the fact that I had a balancing equations worksheet that had to be done. Kim and Jared were still going at it, talking so animatedly among themselves. I preteneded to dust off my hands.  
>"The Love Doctor McKenna strikes again!" I said gently to myself, careful not to disturb the nerd that sat next to me who took his chemistry work <em>far <em>too seriously. This was actually this first time Love Doctor McKenna ever striked, not that anyone really needed to know that. It was too late anyways, I was already convinced that I was the next Patti Stanger. The bell rang, and I collected my things, ready to hear all about what happened from Kim.

She slowly collected her things as Jared waved and said, "See you later." At that point, I squealed.

Kim looked at me with a wide smile, "I owe you own big time, McKenna!" On the way to my next class, Kim talked and talked, something I was very unused to from Kim. By the way she spoke, it sounded like he flirted with her a _lot._ I didn't voice my thoughts, because I really didn't want to disappoint my friend or bring her down at all. It's just, I did find it rather weird that Jared had taken such a strong sudden interest in Kim.  
>The rest of the day inched away as I dealt with classes like World History and English II, then finally, it was time for art. Today was the day we finally got to do something fun, which was figure drawing!<p>

I sat in my usual seat, awaiting instructions from the art teacher when Paul sauntered in. It really made me want to gag. To be completely honest, I'd actually forgetten he was in this class in the first place.

"Mr. Lahote, come here often?" Miss Well asked, snorting at her words, then going back to preparing supplies for the class. She was definitely and odd person, but she still was my absolute favorite teacher. Looking around the room, I realized that all the seats were taken. Except, convienantly, the one directly in front of me. That meant we'd been two and half feet away, facing face-to-face.

"Sarah!" I hissed across the room. A girl with a long black braid turned, a questioning look splattering her features.

"Can we switch seats today?" Sarah's eyes flicked to Paul, then back to me. She gently shook her head, turning back to her desk. Fuck!

Turning back to Paul, he too looked hesitant to sit in the seat. As if something bad would happen if he did. Which actually sounded accurate enough. I watched as he pulled the chair out, the screeching echoing throughout the entire classroom, and he sat, his eyes never meeting my own. What was I, Medusa?

"Look," I spat, "Don't ruin this period for me today, Paul. Art's my favorite class, and we can't have you ruining that too, now can we?"

Damn, I seriously sounded like a bitch. He just grunted like a stupid animal, his eyes never meeting mine. I rolled my eyes, frustrated with the fact that Paul didn't even throw any harsh words back at me. Not that I was complaining or anything, it's just... it felt off. It wasn't supposed to be that way! In fact, Paul had been acting weirdly all day long.

Miss Well finally passed out papers, charcoal, and chalk. She explained to us we do a rough sketch of our partners head and shoulders, and that this was to focus on the general shapes and shading, and that we were to add details later. Then, what ruined it all for me, our partner was to be the person sitting in front of us.

I looked to Paul, but his head was on the desk. Great, I probably wouldn't make the greatest grade if I had to work with this lump.

I took my stick of charcoal, and then bravely nudged Paul with it in case he really did bite.

"C'mon, Paul," I said more politely this time. "I'll draw first, so you can just sit there." Paul lifted his head from his desk, his eyes on his hands as he fiddled with picking at the sides. I quickly started sketching an oval for a head, slowly forming Paul's chin and neck for the basic shape. I was careful to shade in the right places, then went in with the chalk for highlights. About 10 minutes later, I got to move into the finer details like eyes, lips, nostrils, wrinkles, little things of that nature.

"Paul, please look at me. I need to see your eyes." Paul's hazel eyes moved up, taking me in, sizing me up. I felt myself chew the inside of my cheek until it began to bleed. However, I ignored it, quickly sketching away his pupils, eyelashes, brows, and then the small mole that was just under his left eye.

"What do you like about him?" Paul finally spoke as I was fixing his hairline. "Who?" I asked, not bothering to stop drawing.

"Embry," Paul murmured.

"Embry's sweet, he's a good actor, he brave and protective..." I found myself saying, even though I'd rather not be talking to Paul at all.

"Do you work?" Paul pressed on. Finally pulling my eyes from my work, I glared at him.

"What is this, 20 questions?" I said rudely. Paul's face fell, and he sighed.

"Fuck off, bitch," he growled as his eyes went back to glaring at the ground. For some reason, he didn't put heart and attitude into his words like he used to. Just as I was doing some touch-ups with my highlights, Miss Well came up behind me, complimenting my work.

"It's good? Let me see it," Paul interrupted, trying to grab at my paper. Rolling my eyes, I turned it around for him to see. His eyes widened like dinner plates, and he gently took it from my hand, examining every detail.

"This... is actually pretty incredible," he said in awe, "Do you draw as a hobby?"

I nodded, "Draw, paint, sew, carve... if it's something artsy, I've probably tried it."

Then, silence grew between us. He carefully handed the paper back, and I put it into my portfolio just as the bell rang.

Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I turned to Paul.

"Bye," I said rather awkwardly. I didn't really know what came over me, it felt necessary since we _were_ art partners, afterall.

"Whatever, McKaty," Paul growled as he trudged out the door. For some reason, I found myself snorting at this. McKaty? That wasn't even close. It was like he was just trying to piss me off. Like he deliberately tried to think of ways to fuck up my name.

Then, I started heading to work, anxious to wait on Jared and Kim for their little "get-together." Entering the shop, I went to the back to change into uniform. Moving to the counter, as I was pulling my hair into ponytail, I saw Jared and Kim get out of a truck that I had assumed to be Jared's. They headed inside, and my made my way their to welcome them in.

"Hi Kim, hi Jared! Welcome to Delight, table for two?" I asked, finding it funny I was asking a question I already knew the answer to.

"Yes," Jared said gruffly as he awkwardly shoved his hands into his short's pockets.

I lead them to a small circular table in the corner of the room, which Kim shot me a grateful look for.

"I'll have a... medium chocolate cherry with pearls, please," Kim said politely as she handed me her menu.

"Same," Jared said quickly after she ordered, handing me his menu as well. I started to walk away, overwhelmed by the cuteness of how great a couple they would be. Cuter than any rainbow, puppy, or basket of kittens!

Even cuter than a Predator, like from the movie. Err yeah, don't judge me.

I went to welcoming in more customers, I had a lot more work to do today since Alexander happened to stay home sick. Going back to the counter, Leah handed me two smoothies. "Give these two to the ones pecking like birds."

Confused by the statement, I turned just in time to see that Jared had leaned across the table, giving Kim a swift kiss on the cheek. Kim was redder than... was there anything I could even compare to that shade? I didn't think so.

I set the smoothies down at the table, seeing that Kim was rather embarrassed as she fiddled with her hair.

"Um, yeah. Enjoy you two, these smoothies are on the house," I awkwardly said to fill the silence.

"Thanks, McKenna," Jared responded politely. Kim rose to her seat, excusing herself to the bathroom, and I took the opportunity. I sat in Kim's seat when the coast was clear, and I looked Jared straight in the eye.

"If you hurt her, I'll seriously hurt you right back. We're talking about your head being used for my Mayan project in world history, Jared."

Jared blinked at me, as if I were speaking some foreign language. I rolled my eyes, took a long sip from Kim's smoothie, and got up and left. I felt my warning was rather clear, I guess I would have to just let then one sink in, or something. Maybe Jared was just a bit slow?

The evening went on slowly, and less and less people came in as the darkness rolled through by 6. By the looks of it, Jared and Kim's little meeting went successfully, and I was pooped by the end of my shift. Unknotting the strings to my apron, setting it on its designated hook, I started heading out, saying good bye to Leah as I exited. It was much darker thanI expected, and today I unfortunately had to walk.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I tried to hurry home as quickly as possible. That was when I heard a rustle in some thick bushes a couple yards away. I froze, and for a split second, I could have sworn I saw glowing eyes staring back at me. I gasped, standing as still as I possibly could. That's what you did with wolves, right? Or was it bears? Fuck, I couldn't even remember! The creature took a step towards me, most of it still engulfed in pitch-black shadows. Its hazel glowing eyes were probably thinking of which recipe would go best with my meat! Not being able to hold it in much longer, I screamed. The lights to a nearby house flashed on, and when I looked back to check the distance between me and the animal, it was gone. I swallowed the hard lump in my throat, turned, and ran as fast as I could home, all the while wondering what the creature was in the first place. A huge wolf? A small bear? What if I was just plain nuts, and it wound up being a dumb, tiny, weenie dog? I unlocked the door to my house and headed to my room, anxious to just go to bed. I cuddled under my comforter, and that was finally when I took a big breath of relief. At least I made it home safely.

Alexander would kill me if I let a wolf-bear-weenie-dog mix eat me.

Or... something like that.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed that very long and... <strong>_**interesting **_**chapter! Please review thoughts and suggestions, it also helps motivate me! Review now, and I will stop holding your chapter 7 hostage! - I. Vonder**


	7. New & Improved

Hello readers! Are you a fan of Pish Posh? Then you might be happy to hear that I am currently rewriting the story, and keeping the character, McKenna.

Stay tuned. (:


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